I've been testing my OS in qemu, but would like to make the move to testing on real hardware,
preferably something I could take with me. Does anyone have suggestions on a laptop? I'd like
to pick up a cheap one off ebay whose internals (video, sound, net, etc) would be fairly easy
to support (ie actually have datasheets available).
Laptop Recommendations
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Re: Laptop Recommendations
Specific laptop?
An EEE PC comes to mind here. By the looks of it only the WiFi is going to be a problem with documentation.
[edit]looks like the wired NIC lacks an official specification as well - there's only an open-source implementation written by the Atheros devs making it close to as bad as dealing with wifi's.[/edit]
An EEE PC comes to mind here. By the looks of it only the WiFi is going to be a problem with documentation.
[edit]looks like the wired NIC lacks an official specification as well - there's only an open-source implementation written by the Atheros devs making it close to as bad as dealing with wifi's.[/edit]
Re: Laptop Recommendations
Go to the shop and examine the installed hardware in Windows control panel. Then you write down this information and go home and search for specifications. Additionally, you want to make sure it doesn't have a locked-down UEFI boot, and that you support the boot scheme (for instance, if you only have legacy boot support, you want to make sure you can enter the BIOS and change boot to legacy).
You can also ask if the laptop in question supports Linux, and if it does, the chance the hardware is documented increases.
I have bought two Compaq Presario CQ57 (CQ58 works as well), and a Sony Vaio SVT1313L1ES. The former one works well and has standard chips, while I still have more issues on the latter (it has an EHCI controller with internal HUBs instead of companion controllers). None of the Wifis are documented though, and the internal touch screen of the Sony probably is attached to PS/2 (this connection has a little documentation, but I'm not sure this is how it is done as I haven't done the driver yet).
You can also ask if the laptop in question supports Linux, and if it does, the chance the hardware is documented increases.
I have bought two Compaq Presario CQ57 (CQ58 works as well), and a Sony Vaio SVT1313L1ES. The former one works well and has standard chips, while I still have more issues on the latter (it has an EHCI controller with internal HUBs instead of companion controllers). None of the Wifis are documented though, and the internal touch screen of the Sony probably is attached to PS/2 (this connection has a little documentation, but I'm not sure this is how it is done as I haven't done the driver yet).